The «Timelapse Plus» project is not about to end anytime soon, even if I'm back at home since a few days now. With 1.6 terabyte of data shot on La Palma and some 500 GB of other Hyperlapses and Timelapses from Austria and Italy, there's a lot of post production for the coming weeks and – maybe –months. The image below is one frame of a timelapse, shot on the shores of La Palma. It's original is 42 MP in size. There are 387 of them. Processing such an amount of data takes time. More on the post process and a short preview clip on my «Timelapse Plus» page.

The Amalfi Coast (la costiera amalfina) is one of Italy's most spectacular landscapes. During a short trip some time ago I shot some time-lapse sequences on different iconic spots. Finally it came together in the short film «Amalfi Mia!». Please have a look, if possible use your full screen and earphones.

Extending my knowledge in photography and time-lapse shooting: that's the goal of project «Timelapse Plus». Follow this blog for more information and the progression of the adventure that takes place in La Palma and Austria.

I’m quite surprised how well the time lapse videos I’ve made for the Jordan Tourism Board in 2012 are doing on Youtube. The short version of «Amman - City in Motion» beats all my personal records: 8.5M views! But also the longer videos are doing quite well. To my surprise the rather calm «Wadi Rum - A Majestic Landscape» is the best of the 3min+ bunch with 1.8M views. It's always nice to see that your work is seen

Hyperlapse - the easy way. This video was recorded driving on a bike trough Zurich-Oerlikon (post code 8050) filming with the app «Hyperlapse» on my iPhone. The resulting movies are 720 only, and sometimes with visible artifacts. You cannot compare the quality of this iPhone videos with the real thing. But still: in my hyper lapsing experience, sometimes, even after hours of post production work the result is not convincing.

...is in Portugal. «The West End of Europe» is where you are a spectator in the theater of nature, watching how the sea is forging a coast of both remarkable wilderness and beauty. Filmed in April 2014 around Nazaré, Carvoeiro and Sagres. Shot mainly in 4K (UHD) with a Panasonic GH4 and a bunch of modern and vintage lenses. Then edited in a 1080p timeline in Final Cut Pro X. Some grading with Filmconvert. Music with a licence of Premiumbeat.com.

The new Panasonic Lumix has not only the much discussed and praised 4K video quality. It’s also a major step up in the capabilities in 1080p (FullHD). One of the feature I’ve tested with a pre production camera (Firmware v0.5) on a trip in Portugal was the 96 frames per second slow motion mode. The clip of some surfers on the western coast beach Praia do Amado were all shot in the 96fps mode. Shutter speed was set between 1/250s and 1/400s. The lens used was a vintage manual focus Canon FD 300mm f4 L Lens. BTW: I really like the feel and quality of old FD lenses adapted to Micro43 cameras. They are ultra smooth to focus, often more compact than their Nikon Ai counterparts and focus in the direction I’m used to from other cameras.

Peaking - a godsendOne of the killer features of the GH4 compared to the GH3 (still a good camera tough) is the new electronic view finder. It’s more detailed, has zebra and - finally - peaking. This is very important when using a lot of vintage lenses or the great Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 with a Metabones Speed Booster adapter. From the menu you can select three colors. For the shots on the beach I’ve switched from the default blue to yellow to better check the focus.

Enough room for some gradingI’ve used the CineD picture profile. The original files have a rather flat look (good for grading). Some contrast and vignettes were added in Final Cut Pro X. There’s some room for grading however with 100Mbps for 96fps it’s more limited than in the other modes (100Mbps for 4K, 1080p @25fps or even 200Mbps for 1080p).

First conclusion: excellentI’ve had the pre prod camera for 10 days and was shooting a lot of video (mainly 4K) and a lot of stills with it. My first conclusion: it’s an excellent step up from the still very capable GH3, especially if you are a video shooter. One thing I really like is that unlike my various Canon cameras which change the layout from generation to generation all the buttons are still on the exact same place if you upgrade from a GH3. And for my hands at least the GH3/GH4 form factor and controls layout is the best I’ve ever had from a camera, on par with Canon’s 7D. It’s a pleasure to shoot with the GH4. The additional battery grip gives some additional hold while the system still remains compact and lightweight compared to a APS-C or Full Frame DSLR.

After weeks of shooting, rendering and editing «Piazze d’Italia» is finally going public. The video featuring 45 piazzas (squares) all over Italy was shot in spring and summer 2013 mainly by me and Edoardo Cicchetti. With additional shots of 6 other time lapse photographers I’ve edited this vast collection of material to the beautiful soundtrack of Paolo Fresu, the well known Italian trumpet player and composer. The video was produced by Mikaela Bandini of Can’t Forget It(aly) for the Italian State Tourism Board ENIT. This long version of the video as well as two short versions are part of the 2014 «Made in Italy» campaign aimed at european travelers.

Finally here: a selection of some time-lapse shots used for the short time-lapse movies during the live broadcast in June. You find some more information in the description of the video. Please make sure you watch the video in HD quality (it’s available as 1080p) and fullscreen.

It’s called the «Land of thousand ponds» ( «Pays des mille étangs» ), but I’d call it «Crosslands». The region in the eastern french Departments of Saône and Vosges was one of the poorest in the country for a long time. The people were very religious at that time, I was told during my stay last summer when I was shooting one of the Crosses ( «Croix calvaires» ) in the beautiful landscape of hills, forests and gentle valleys. Read More...

A time-lapse tilt-shift video shot and edited by me for the Little Italy project. Additonal shots by Itaria Colussi and Andrea Lacota (www.emotionttl.com). Music: «Everyday is a Gift», with a license of premiumbeat.com